Have you moshed enough this year?

Monkeys visualizing led to language Researchers at Bethesda NIMH found that monkeys react to screams and calls by "lighting up" the part of the brain associated with image and action. The paper appeared in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (needs costly subscription), abstract here, and it is speculated that this might explain the appearance of language in humans, or, as these scientists say, "neural substrate for representing object concepts." So, alarm calls are precursors for language. Nifty.

The Opening Chord to "A Hard Day's Night" Revealed! "The opening chord to “A Hard Day’s Night” is one of the most memorable in rock history. . . But what exactly was that mysterious chord? . . . A type of mathematics called Fourier Transforms can be used to reconstruct the original frequencies from a list of numbers . . " Ya know, I never would have guessed that particular arrangement. Warning: Beatle geekery inside! more inside

Notes from the road. Travel - great pictures, great writing.

Acquire P-Ray Vision ! It may take some practice to develop the ability to perceive Haidinger's brush... but once you've got the hang of it, you'll be seeing the sky in a whole new light.

Um, as some of you may or may not know, my brother is in the army and stationed in Iraq. He's a tanker and has been in all the worst areas, Baghdad, Fallujah, and tons of other places he isn't allowed to tell me about. While I do not support the war in any way, I want my brother to make it back safe. I'm sending him a huge care package tomorrow late afternoon. It includes a ton of food, a few presents, and some music that he has probably never heard before in his life. I'm sending 5 minidiscs. 4 are filled with songs and the 5th one I plan to fill with good wishes from people I know as well as strangers. If you have a few moments tonight and want to contribute to this little project, please record a short message in mp3 or .wav or .aiff or whatever on your computer

Controlling devices by thought alone is now within reach Researchers have made significant progress in the quest to have people control electronic devices by thought power. more inside

Herb Rabbit. Those wacky Chinese toy makers. What exactly are you supposed to do with this thing? Poor liddle rabbit... I eat your herby brains for health! Ok, so you don't like the rabbit. How about one of these , or this and what the heck is this ?

Puppies! more inside

Childhood Torture in Uganda. Alex Tien was just 11-years-old when he was abducted. . . . [H]is initiation involved being forced to hack a man to death and drink his blood -- a rebel tactic to brainwash, brutalise and dehumanise those they capture. Caution: Unpleasant photos inside. more inside

a thread about transcending pain? Recently I returned to Charleston, South Carolina, picked up the more inside

Uh, guys, it's a film. These are, and I know it's a long word, charicatures. Actually, that's kinda patronising I know. (Patronising, my that's a long word too isn't it. Or do I mean condescending? Whatever.) This stuff just annoys me on many many levels though. more inside

50 Greatest Movie Deaths kill kill die die.

Curious George: Ever seen a UFO? Curious George: We've had posts on ghosts and strange streaks in the sky. We've told our ghost stories. What about our UFO stories? Have you ever seen an unidentified flying object? more inside

Tromping through wet and cold Prague , Dreams, the Terry Gilliam fan site extraordinaire, takes us into the head of the director once again. Plagued by disasters both seemingly from above and then also from below, Gilliam has finally got his feet back on the ground with not just the Brothers Grimm but also the upcoming Tideland. more inside

Curious George: Digital Scrapbooking... I've got a friend who's interested in some kind of computer-based scrapbooking. Googling has only served to confuse me, since I know nothing about scrapbooking myself. more inside

Super Xuxa vs. Satan Seriously. more inside

KatWALLks. A Walk On The Wall Side

International team uses aerial surveys to help track orangutans in Malaysia. Their report is in PLoS Biology, which looks like a nifty resource.

A strange streak was captured on film in Australia. I was all set to call it a film imperfection until I noticed the flash. What is it?